This week in August I have an unusually large amount of friends celebrating birthdays, and for me this means a lot of sugar flying around in the kitchen. Although, I have been busy in the kitchen, I have really not gotten a lot of time working with my camera. Still no photographs of the food this week, and there may not be for another two.
But I will continue to share with you the recipes I have been whipping up, and my experiences with them.

This week I really wanted to make cupcakes for one of my best friends birthday and I wanted something flavorful. I chose to do a lemon cupcake and they turned out great, however, the frosting never quite reached the right consistency. Although I was unhappy with this, the frosting was still amazing, and I was able to tweak the recipe so you shouldn't have to worry about it!

Lemon Cupcakes with Vanilla Frosting

Makes 12

For the cakes:

1 1/4 cups cake flour

1/2 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

3/4 cup sugar

zest from 1 lemon

4 tablespoons butter (at room temperature)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line muffin tin. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a big mixing bowl, add the sugar, lemon zest, and butter. Cream three minutes or until light and almost fluffy. Add the extracts, eggs, and buttermilk, and stir until combined. Add the flour mixture slowly, scraping the sides of the bowl, until thoroughly mixed. Divide evenly in a muffin tin, and bake for approx. 20 min. Fully cool before frosting.

In a large metal bowl, combine egg whites, light corn syrup, cream of tartar, water, sugar, and vanilla. Place bowl over a medium saucepan filled with about 2 inches of water over medium high heat* (the water should not touch the bottom of the bowl). With a handheld mixer, beat on high for 5 to 10 minutes until stiff peaks form. Remove from heat and fully cool.

Notes:
* Be sure your heat is high enough or your frosting will never whip up.

That's the recipe for this week! Hope you enjoy, and happy birthday to all my friends this month!